Latch



Jan. 9., 1940. I J. P. GLEASON LAT CH Filed Nov. 16, 1938 INVENTOR- Joseph B Gleason/ Patented Jan. 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFF 16E" f Q Q I 3 2,186,903 I I LATCH Joseph P. Gleason, Lynbrook,xN. Y'., assignor to The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Philadelphia, Pa'., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 16, 1938, Serial No. 240,653

3 Claims.

This invention relates-to door latches. More specifically, it relates to door latches useful in instances'where a flush'exterior is desirable or essential, as for example, in connection with trap doors for passenger'car platforms to avoid projections such as would belikely to trip and cause injury to train attendants and passengers as they Walk: on the trap door.

My'invention has for its aim the provision of a latch of the kind referred to which is of simple and compact construction; which embodies a minimum o-fmovable' parts; which is easily and quickly. assembled and installed; which is' releasable by pull upon its actuating-member incident to opening the door; and which automaticallyflocks. itself as: the door is closed.

Fig. I of the attached drawing shows a door latch conveniently embodying the present improvements.

Fig. IIis a longitudinal section of the latch taken as indicated by the arrows IIII in Fig. I.

Figs. HI and IV are prespective views respectively of the actuating member of the latch, and of the latch bolt.

As herein illustrated, my improved door latch has a casing member I in the form of an oblong plate adapted to be set into an opening 2 (Fig. II) at the swinging edge of the door 3 which is to be latched so as to be flush with'the outer face of the latter, and secured by bolts or rivets (not shown) passed through holes 4 adjacent the longitudinal edges of said plate. Extending inward from the plate I at opposite sides of an opening 5 therein is a pair of laterally spaced bearing lugs 6 which are pierced for passage of a transverse pintle l whereon the actuating member 8 of the latch is fulcrumed. The actuating member 8, it will be noted, has a rearward handle 9 with a fiat outer face which is normally flush with the outer faces of the plate I and of the door 3 as shown in Fig. II, the narrow square v portion of said handle substantially filling the opening as shown in Fig. I. The wide end or grasp portion ll of the actuating member 8 is formed with an inwardly projecting lip l2 and extends into a recess or outwardly open hollow l3 in the plate I, the proportions of said recess being such as to permit said lip to be readily underreached by the fingers in operating the latch. Projecting forwardly of the actuating member 8 is a pair of integrally-formed laterally spaced curved fingers I4 which extend into a yoked inwardly-extending keeper projection l5 adjacent the front edge of the plate I, see Fig. 11.

My improved door latch also includes a complemental casingmember I 6 of open box-like: configuration which haslateral flanges I1 and which is adapted-to besecured, opposite'the casing' member I to the'inner face "of the: trap door" substantially to the width of the hollow' of the" casing member Hi the depth of the: bolt corresponding: to that of the hollow. and that of the keeper yoke: l5' on the casing; member I, with:

The'front wall 21' of.

provision, however, of just sufiici'ent Working; I

clearance for sliding movement of said bolt. Extending rearwardly from the bolt 24 are laterally-spaced rods 26 which pass through apertures in a transverse guide plate 21 within the casing member l6; and surrounding said rods are coiled springs 28 which are in compression between the rear ends of the bolt and the plate. The springs 28 are instrumental on the one hand in keeping the reduced forward end 23 of the bolt projected as far as permitted by the shoulders 29, and, on the other hand, in holding the plate 21 against abutment lugs 30 extending inward from opposite sides of the hollow in the casing member [6. As a consequence of this construction, the bolt 24, the springs 28 and the guidev plate 21 are easily and quickly assembled with the casing member IS without the need of special means for securing said plate. As shown in Figs. II and IV, the front end 23 of the bolt 24 is inclined or beveled centrally as at 3|, and formed adjacent its central portion with correspondingly inclined or beveled recessed surfaces 32 with which the rounded fingers M on the latch actuating member 8 normally bear.- I

The operation of the latch is as follows: To open the door 3, the handle 9 of the actuating member 8 is grasped and pulled outwardly (or upwardly as the case may be). As a consequence, the latch member 8 is swung clockwise (Fig. II) about the fulcrum pin 1 with attendant camming action between the curved fingers I4 and the beveled shoulders 32 of the bolt 24, the forward end of which latter is thereby displaced from the keeper yoke I5 of the casing member I against the pressure of the springs 28, until said bolt is wholly within the supplemental casing member I6. Upon clearance of the bolt 24 from the keeper yoke l5, further pull on the actuating member 8 will obviously be attended by opening of the door 3, when the bolt will be immediately restored to its normal projected position by the springs 28. Relatching will be automatic incident to closing of the door 3 incident to which the keeper, by camming action with the bevel 3| of the bolt 24, will cause the latter to be depressed into the casing member 16. Finally when the keeper l5 has cleared the bolt 24, the latter will again be projected by the springs 28 into the opening of said keeper as in Fig. II. As the door is closed, the actuating member 8 will be restored automatically to its normal position by action of the beveled shoulders 32 on the bolt 24 with its fingers I in a manner obvious from Fig. 11.

My improved latch is not, of course, to be considered as limited to use for trap doors, since it can be advantageously employed with other types of doors including inwardly swinging entrance doors of passenger train cars or coaches.

.Having thus described my invention, I claim: 1. A door latch comprising complemental casing members adapted to be secured respectively adjacent the swinging edge of the door and adjacent the contiguous edge of the door opening, one of said members being formed with a keeper yoke; an actuating grasp member fulcrumed on the said casing member and having a camming projection extending into and limited in its mo- 2. A door latch comprising a casing member having a flat outer face, said member being set into the door contiguous to the swinging edge of the door with its face flush with the outside face of the door; a complemental casing member secured adjacent a door opening at the inside face of a wall adjacent edge of said opening; a pivoted actuating member wholly within a recess in the first mentioned casing member; a bolt slidably guided on the second casing member and cooperative with an inwardly-projecting keeper yoke on the first casing member; said bolt having a bevel at its outer end adapted to be engaged by a camming projection on the grasp member extending into the yoke and during actuation of said grasp member, to be displaced from said yoke; and yielding means to resist dislodgment of said bolt.

3. A door latch comprising a casing member which is secured to the outer face of the door adjacent the swinging edge of the latter and which has an inwardly extending keeper yoke; a complemental casing member of open box-like configuration backed up against the inside of the wall of the door opening; a bolt retained and slidably guided within the box-like casing member, said bolt having a beveled outer end normally engaging the keeper yoke of the first casing member; an outwardly swingable actuating grasp member fulcrumed on the first casing member and having a cam projection extending into the keeper yoke to cooperate with the beveled end of the bolt; and yielding means to resist displacement of the bolt by the cam projection of the grasp member.

JOSEPH P. GLEASON. 

